


time is whenever we are (watch us shine)

by RosieTwiggs



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, I Love You, Prompt Fill, mild awkwardness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-17
Updated: 2016-05-17
Packaged: 2018-06-09 03:01:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6886798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RosieTwiggs/pseuds/RosieTwiggs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It shouldn't be this hard to get three little words out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	time is whenever we are (watch us shine)

**Author's Note:**

> Storiesbyladychi prompted me on tumblr: A break in the rain.

They’ve been tiptoeing around saying the words for over a week now.

And it’s ridiculous. It’s not like they haven’t _known_ for practically forever.

Fitz had as good as told her at the bottom of the ocean.

_“And you’re more than that, Jemma.”_

She’d grabbed his hand as he headed off to possible death on an aircraft carrier.

_“Maybe there is.”_

He dove through a hole in the universe for her, and she told him she couldn’t, wouldn’t waste anymore time, wouldn’t let him go.

The intent has been there, all this time, even if the actual words have never been said.

But last week, they’d been sitting around in the common room, laughing, talking about the Academy, about their many failed experiments, their ridiculous attempts at cover-ups as well as _those_ particular failures. It was comfortable, easy. Effortless, really.

And after a moment of silence Fitz looked her straight in the eye and said, “I - I want to say - There’s something I’ve - I mean...”

He took a breath, let it out slowly, focusing himself as he often needed to do nowadays. “I _want_ to tell you how I feel about you, you know. I have for - a long time. The timing just - I keep waiting for the perfect moment. And it seems ridiculous, just completely, utterly ridiculous - waiting for the perfect time to say something that should be easy, but -”

“It’s not. Easy. I know.” And she did. Their relationship had been built on grand gestures and extraordinary situations, each one bringing them to where they were today. She felt the same way about him, but couldn’t find a way or a right time to get those three little words out.

“Right. So we’re in agreement then, we both-”

“Yes.”

He fell silent again, looking for all the world like he was trying to work his way through a particularly complex electrodynamics equation.

“Next weekend. We’ll be stationed in Prague for the weekend. Have you ever been?”

Jemma shook her head. “No, I hear it’s lovely.”

He nodded. “Yeah... We should get dinner.”

“Okay.”

They’d ended up falling asleep on the sofa and nothing else had been said on the matter.

And now she thinks maybe they’ll be better off if they never say it at all.

She’s been waiting for tonight all week, building it up in her mind. And now that it’s here... she would feel ridiculous telling Fitz how she feels. The whole thing feels forced, awkward - the exact opposite of what the rest of their relationship has been like up until now.

Dinner is an almost silent affair - none of the banter and laughter that usually accompanies their conversations and meals. They’re too focused on the elephant in the room to even try to act naturally. And Jemma watches Fitz get more and more uncomfortable over the course of the evening, mirroring her own feelings quite precisely. When he finally knocks his own wine glass over in his agitation, she knows they’ve had enough.

“Check please?” she asks the waiter, who nods and runs off.

“Jemma, what about dessert?”

“I’m not particularly in the mood for sweets this evening.”

“You. Not in the mood for sweets. Are you feeling alright?”

She takes a deep breath a forces a smile. “Yes, I’m fine. I’d just much rather take a walk; the weather was quite nice when we arrived.”

Fitz nods, the fingers of his left hand fidgeting slightly. “Right, yes, of course. Erm, I think the Old Town Square is nearby. We could walk there?”

Jemma smiles, and once the check has been taken care of, they get up to leave, Fitz holding out her coat for her to put on.

Outside _is_ lovely. Chilly and slightly damp. It’s been overcast all day, and it must have rained while they ate, because the cobblestone streets glisten in the lamplight. They begin heading in the direction of the square, not really in any rush. Jemma’s determined to put this whole thing behind them and just enjoy the rest of the night.

“This was a bad idea wasn’t it?”

She glances sideways at him. He has his hands in his pockets, shoulders hunched, against the chill or the awkward turn to the evening, she doesn’t know.

“Oh, Fitz.” She leans against him as they walk, tucking her own hand into his pocket, twining her fingers with his. “No, it wasn’t. But I think we both need to just stop thinking about it so much and let it happen. As much as we both wish we could plan for every scenario, sometimes, maybe it’s better to just let go.”

He hums in agreement, and loses a bit of the tense edge to his posture.

The next two minutes are better, and the silence turns comfortable, only interrupted by the sound of her heels on the stone.

But then thunder rumbles ominously overhead.

Fitz stops, glancing back the way they came. “Maybe we should head back to the hotel - I -” Whatever he’d planned on saying is replaced by a surprised yelp at the sudden torrential downpour of rain.

“Ah! Fitz!” Jemma yells, and they both begin to run down the street, looking for shelter. There’s a small cafe at the corner, and they simultaneously head there, holding hands and laughing until they make their way inside.

“Seems we’re not the only ones who don’t think this evening has gone the way it should have,” Fitz says, out of breath, pulling his coat off and shaking it out.

Jemma follows suite, smiling wryly. “It doesn’t seem fair. You could almost argue that the cosmos are against us.”

Fitz narrows his eyes. “One tim-”

“Yes, one time you said that, I know. But we _are_ both drenched...”

He shakes his head, but smiles nonetheless.

They sit by the window, and Jemma immediately orders something sweet and flaky and covered in chocolate.

“I thought you said you didn’t want dessert?” He eyes her with a grin.

She sniffs delicately. “Yes, well, a girl should be allowed to change her mind if she so chooses...”

And just like that, it’s easy again. They’re just Fitz and Simmons again, enjoying each other, no stress, no expectations. They order coffees. She grimaces at Fitz taking his black, just as she always does, and he makes fun of the three teaspoons of sugar and massive amount of cream she adds to hers.

The next two hours go by in what feels like no time at all. She makes him taste her pastry, which he actually enjoys enough to order his own, and he rolls his eyes when she finishes her coffee and orders a hot cocoa with whipped cream.

But eventually, it starts to get late, and the rain isn’t showing any sign of letting up.

“Seems a shame to order a taxi when we’re so close to the hotel.” Jemma frowns at the downpour outside.

“Do you think it’ll stop any time soon?” Fitz wonders, squinting through the glass.

“Hard to imagine, if it’s been going on this long...” She leans her head against the glass, watching the rain hit the puddles in the streets, creating a never-ending frenzy of calming motion. The glass is cool on her forehead, and honestly? She’s in no rush to go anywhere. She’s happy here. Right now.

“I love you, Jemma.”

She freezes for a moment before turning to face him, an uncontrollable rush of adrenaline spreading through her. It translates to intense joy a moment later, shooting down to her fingertips, flushing her cheeks, and she can’t stop the slow smile from spreading across her face, until she’s smiling so hard she doesn’t know if she’ll ever be able to stop.

Fitz is red in the cheeks, but he smiles in response - just as widely, and laughs, shaking his head. His eyes are sparkling and another laugh bubbles out of him, like he can’t contain it. “I’m such an idiot,” he says, still grinning madly. “Should’ve said it ages ago if you were going to look at me like that.”

Her chest constricts with the sheer joy of it, and she tries to school herself for just a moment, so she can reply, tries to make her heart stop beating as fast as it is, but it’s impossible, so she speaks anyway.

“I love you, Fitz.” And she sounds like a love-struck fool, but the words sound right spoken through a smile, and the way Fitz is looking back at her makes her feel silly and wonderful and she can’t _believe_ they ever thought they needed a _right_ moment to feel this way, because she never wants to stop being as in love with him as she is right now.

She notices the sudden silence and glances outside only to find the rain has inexplicably come to halt.

She bites her lip, still grinning, and nods towards the window. “It stopped raining,” she says softly.

And she can see it on his face, he’s thinking the exact same thing she is. Maybe the cosmos interfering isn’t such a far-flung idea.

“Maybe not so cursed after all.”

They get up to leave, and Fitz pulls her outside into the shimmering night. Her breath is coming out in little white puffs, and there’s no one else in the street but them.

He kisses her then, two grinning fools kissing in the middle of the street in Prague, smiles so bright they out-dazzle the city lights. They are their own grand gesture. The timing is perfect whenever they are. And they create their own fate.

The cosmos can’t do anything but stand by and watch them shine.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Just wanted to say that this story is 100% based on true events. The setting and dialogue changed, obviously, but this is how my husband and I ended up saying "I love you." I'll never forget it, and I still think God was on our side that night, matchmaking away.
> 
> You can find more of my stories on my tumblr - rosietwiggs.tumblr.com


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